{"id":24235,"date":"2023-01-26T10:39:09","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T09:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=73516"},"modified":"2023-01-26T11:37:22","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T10:37:22","slug":"what-do-spider-palps-do","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/what-do-spider-palps-do\/","title":{"rendered":"What do spider palps do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Stuart Blackman\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 26 January 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Few body parts have been put to such a variety of uses as have the palps of spiders.<\/p>\n

More formally known as the pedipalps, these large, paired mouthparts are used variously to manipulate food, as supplementary walking legs, communication devices, sensory structures and sex organs.<\/p>\n

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In some species \u2013 especially the tarantulas and their kin \u2013 they are so limb-like that their owner can look like it has ten legs rather than the customary eight.<\/p>\n

In jumping spiders<\/a>, they are often brightly coloured and flashed semaphore-style at rivals and potential mates. Some wolf spiders use them as drumsticks, to tap out rhythmic signals on the ground.<\/p>\n

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